Dovetailing-machine.



No. 824,894. PATENTED JULY B, 1906.

L. G. WETZEL. DOVETAILING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22, 1905.

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No. 824,894. PATENTED JULY 3, 1906. L. U. WBTZEL. DOVETAILING MACHINE.

. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22. 1905.

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No. 824,894. PATENTED JULY 3, 1906. L. G. WETZEL.

DOVETAILING MACHINE.

' APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22,1905.

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PATENTED JULY 3, 1906 7 SHIETS-BHEET 4.

L. O. WBTZEL. DOVETAILING MACHINE. APPLICATION EI'LED JUNE 22, 1905.

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'PATENTED JULY 8, 1906.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22, 1905.

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PATENTED JULY 3, 1906.

L. 0. WETZEL. DOVETAILING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22, 1905.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 6 PATENTED JULY 3, 1906.

L. G. WETZEL.

DOVETAILING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 22,1905.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. LEWIS C. WETZEL, OF TOLEDO. OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE ADVANCE MACHINERY COMPANY, TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

DOVETAILING-IVIACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1906.

Application filed J 22, 1905. Serial No. 266,445.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEwis C. WETZEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at T0- ledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dovetailing-Wlachines and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in dovetailing-machines of that class which have a plurality or gang of spindles carrying frusto-conical bits.

One object of the invention is to provide a dovetailing-machine with an improved frictional gearing which will render the machine more simple in construction, efficient in operation, and at the same time less expensive to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide amacliine of this character in which the spindles will be driven in groups'or gangs, so that one or more of them may be thrown out of operation without affecting the others.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character with an improved means for rounding the corners of the male dovetails on any desired thickness of boards.

Another object of the invention is to'provide a simple and effective clamping device whereby work of any size and shape may be firmly secured in position.

Another object of the invention is to improve and simplify the construction and operation of machines of this character, and thereby render the same more compact, dui'able, and efficient.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel feathrough the'upper portion of the machine. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 4 4 in Fig. 3,

the Work-supporting carriage being removed from the top of the machine. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the work-holding carriage. ig. 6 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 7 is an end elevation of said carriage. Fig. 81s

a detail vertical sectional view taken on the line 8 8 in Fig. 4. Fig. 9 is a similar sectional view taken on the line 9 9 in Fig. 4. Fig. 10

is a detail horizontal sectional View taken on the line 10 10 in Fig. 3. Fig. 11 is a detail side elevation of several of the bit-spindles, showing the manner in which the same are mounted. Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 12 .12 in Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is adetail horizontal sectional View taken on the line 13 13 in Fig. 12. Fig. 14 is a detail perspective view of one end of the combbar, and Fig. 15 is a detail perspective view of one end of the combined dust-guard and lubricating device for the upper ends of the bit-spindles.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings the numeral 1 denotes a base upon which is adjustably mounted a swinging or tilting support 2. The base-frame 1 comprises two similar leg-sections which are cast with integral bearings 3 to receive ahorizontal driveshaft 4. The latter is retained in said bearings by removable caps 5 and has upon one of its ends ti ht and loose driving belt-pulleys 6 7. T e supporting-frame 2 swings from the shaft 4 as a pivot and is adapted to be adjustably secured to the base 1 by screwbolts or the like 8, which pass through curved slots 9, formed in the upper portions of the base, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. Upon the top of the support 2 is mounted a work-holding carriage 10, and upon its front side is mounted a spindle-carrying frame 11, which is preferably in the form of a casting having upper and lower transversely-extending members, upon which are adjustably mounted bearings 12 for a plurality of parallel bit-spindles 13. The spindle-carrying frame 11 is mounted so that it may be adjusted vertically to raise and lower the frusto-conical bits 14 upon the upper ends of the spindles 13 preferably by forming adjacent to its ends vertical slots 15 to receive guiding and clamping'screws 16. Said frame 11 is adapted to be raised and lowered by an adjusting-screw 17, which is swiveled in a rearwardly-projecting lug or arm 18 upon the lower portion .of the said frame 11 and which has at one end a handwheel 1 9 and at its opposite end screw-threads 20, which Work in the threaded aperture of a lug 21, formed upon the rear of the support 2. It will be seen that when the screws 16 are loosened and the wheel 19 is turned the spindle-carrying frame 11 may be raised or lowered, as desired, and that when the same is in the desired position it may be clamped firmly upon the support 2 by tightening said screws 16.

Any desired number of the bit-spindles 13 may be employed, and they are preferably arranged in groups or gangs, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the spindles of each group or gang being geared to rotate together by forming upon them gears 22, which mesh with each other. Said spindles 13 are also formed with integral shoulders 23, which engage the adjustable bearings 12. The latter are clearly shown in Figs. 1 1, 12, and 13 of the drawings and each consists of a substantially U-shaped member 24, within which is secured, by a cross-pin 25, a member 26, which is in the form of a block. Said pin also secures in a recessed portion of the block member 26 one end of a screw 27, the opposite end of which projects througha verticallydisposed slot 28, formed in said frame 11. Upon said threaded end 27 of the screw is a clamping-nut 29, which, together with setscrews 30, (clearly shown in Fig. 12 of the drawings,) is adapted to clamp the bearing 12 firmly upon the frame 11. It will be seen that when the nuts 29 and the screws 30 of both the upper and lower bearings 12 of each spindle are loosened said bearings may be adjusted vertically to raise or lower the bitspindles upon said frame 11. In order to permit said bearings 12 to be more readily moved upwardly and to hold them more securely against a downward movement, I provide set-screws 31 in an inwardly-projecting flange 32 upon the bottom of the frame 11, as clearly shown in Fig. 12 of the drawings. In each of the block members 26 of the bearings 12 I preferably provide oil-cavities 33, which supply oil to the said spindles and which are closed by spring-seated caps 34.

Each group or gang of bit-spindles is driven independently by rotating the centermost or one of the centermost spindles of each group or gang. This is effected by making the centermost spindle 13 of each of said groups with an extended lower end 35, upon which is slidably mounted the bearinghub 36 of a cone friction wheel or gear 37. This hub 36 is free to slide upon said end 35 of the spindle, but is keyed to rotate therewith by forming its bore with a longitudinal groove to receive a key 38 upon said end 35.

The hubs 36 of said friction cone-gears 37 are mounted in verticallyadjustable bearings lower portion of the support 2. Each of these bearings consists of two sections 40 and 41, which are bolted together between the shoulders formed upon one of said hubs 36. The member 40 is formed with a dovetail portion 42 to slide in a similar-shaped guidegroove formed in the front of the lower portion of the support 2, as clearly shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings, and it is adapted to be adjusted vertically by a hand-lever 43, which is pivoted, as shown at 44, upon the rear of the support 2. Said lever has one of its ends pivoted, as at 45, upon the member 40 of said bearing. The opposite end of said lever 43 is formed with a handle 46 and is adapted to be held in an adjusted position by its engagev ment with a rack 47, formed upon the lower end of a depending arm or bracket 48, bolted or otherwise secured to the under side of the top of the support 2, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The front member 41 of each of said bearings 39 is preferably formed with an integral oil-cavity 49, which supplies a suitable lubricant to said bearing-hub 36. Each of the friction cone-gears 37 meshes with a friction wheel or gear 50, which isv rigidly secured upon the central portion of the drive-- shaft 4. As clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, four of the friction-wheels 50 are provided, the two central ones being formed integral, as shown. These friction-wheels are preferably faced with paper; but it will be understood that they may be of any desired construction. It will be seen that by operating any one of the four levers 43 any one of the four groups or gangs of spindles may be thrown into or out of operation by shifting the proper friction-cone 37 into or out of frictional engagement with its coacting driving-- wheel 50.

The frusto-conical dovetailing bits 14 are removably secured upon the upper ends of the spindles, preferably by screwing them into threaded sockets 51, formed in the said ends of the spindles. A combined dustguard and lubricating device 52 is also provided upon said ends of the bit-spindles. This device, as clearly shown in Fig. 15 of the drawings, consists of a metal plate 52, having its sides bent under to form flanges 53, which retain upon said plate a strip of felt or similar material 54. The plate 52 and strip 54 are formed with apertures 55, through which the bit-spindles 13 project, and said plate 52 is formed with apertures 56, through which oil or other lubricant may be supplied to the- 39, which are slidably mounted upon the sliding member 57 and an upper sliding member 58, which moves at right angles to the lower member 57, or in a forward and rearward direction, so as to move the work toward and from the bits 14. The lower member 57 of the carriage is in the form of a plate slidably mounted in a guide-recess 59, formed in the top of the support 2. The said lower member 57 may be reciprocated by a handlever 57 which is pivoted, as shown at 57 upon the support 2, and it has its rear end pivotally connected, as shown at 57, to said lower member 57. The upper member 58 of the carriage is slidably mounted by forming its ends with beveled portions 60, which are adapted to slide between guides 61, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The upper member 58 is adapted to be reciprocated forwardly and rearwardly to bring the work up to and away from the bits 14 by providing upon the ends of said lower member 57 rackbars 62, which are in mesh with pinions 63, secured upon the outer ends of a transverselyextending shaft 64, mounted in bearings in the upright portions of said carriage member 58. Upon said shaft 64 is provided a handlever 65, by means of which the same may be rotated. The carriage member 58 is provided at its ends with adjustable stopscrews 66, which coact with stop-lugs 67, provided upon the lower carriage member 57 for the purpose of limiting the forward movement of the carriage member 58.

The two boards A B, which are to be operated upon, are supported upon a comb-bar 68 and are clamped in position by independent clamping devices 69 and 70. The combbar 68 instead of being cast integral with the carriage members is in the form of an an le metal bar which is removably secured by means of screws 71 to lugs 72. Said combbar 68 has one of its flanges formed with slots 73 to receive the bit-spindles 13. By making the comb-bar 68 in this manner it will be seen that it may be readily removed and replaced by a new one in case one or more of its fingers become broken. The clamping device 69, which holds the board A upon the carriage member 58, comprises two screws 75, which are adjustably mounted in lugs 76, projecting from the ends of said carriage member 58. The said screws 75 project through the apertured ends of a transverselyextending bar 77, which is-pressed inwardly against a stop-collar 78 upon said screws by coiled springs 79, which surround said screws and are confined between the ends of the bar 77 and adjusting-nuts 80, as clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The bar 77 forms a support for vertically-disposed clampingplates 81, which are slidably mounted upon said bar by means of pins 82. Said pins are screwed to the plates 81 and slide through apertures formed in the bar 77. Springs 83 are provided upon the outer ends of said pins between their heads and the bar 77 so as to hold the clamping-plates 81 normally in a retracted position. Said plates are adapted to be forced into contact with the board A, so as to clamp the same against the vertical front portion of the carriage member 58 by cams 84, which are adjustably secured upon the bar 77 Said cams are provided with handles 85 and may be adjusted longitudinally upon the bar 77 by adjusting a collar 86, which is held in place by a set-screw. Each of said collars is engaged by a hook-shaped lug 87, provided upon one of the cams 84, so that the latter, while free to rotate upon the bar 77, is prevented from moving endwise until said collar 86 is adjusted. The clamping device 70', which holds the board B firmly upon the comb-bar 68, is similar to the clamping device 69 and comprises two clampingplates 88, which slide vertically within the front portion of the carriage member 58 and which are held in elevated or retracted position by springs 89, which surround pins 90, slidable in a transversely-extending bar-support 91 and secured to said plates 88. The bar 91 has its reduced ends apertured to receive screws 92, which are adjustable in lugs upon the carriage member 58, as clearly shown in Fi 6 of the drawings. The said ends of the bar 91 are held in engagement with fixed collars upon the screws 92 by coiled springs 93, which surround the screws between said ends and adjusting-nuts 94. The clamping-plates 88 are forced downwardly, so that their forwardly-projecting ends 95 engage the board B by cams 96, which are adjustably mounted upon the bar 91 in a manner similar to that in which the cams 84 are mounted. The boards or other work are guided within the carriage member 58 and are held against endwise movement by adjustable guides 97, which are, as shown, in the form of rods which project through apertures in the carriage member 58 and have bent inner ends 98. Said rods are slidably mounted and adapted to be held in an adjusted position by set-screws 99. I preferably provide two of these guide-rods 97 at each end of the carriage, as shown.

In order to support the board B in an inclined position, or to support work of irregular shape, I provide an adjustable supporting device 100 upon the top of the carriage member 58. This device is in the form of a transversely-extending bar or plate which is pivotally mounted, as shown at 101, to permit it to be tilted, and it is adapted to be secured in an adjusted position by a clamping device in the form of a link 102. Said link has one of its ends pivoted to the free end of the bar or support 100 and its opposite end formed with a longitudinal slot 103 to receive a clamping; screw 104, which passes through an aperture in one side of the carriage member 58 and has a wing-nut 105 upon its outer end. It will be seen that this tilting device 100 may be adjusted to support curved or irregularlyshaped boards between the guides 97.

In order to round the corners of the male dovetail in boards of different thicknesses, I provide the upper carriage member 58 with a screw or bolt 106, which projects downwardly into a guide-recess 107, formed in a die 108, which is adjustably mounted in guides 109, secured u on the top of the support 2. o The die 108 sides forwardly and rearwardly in the sade guide, as clearly shown in Figs. 4, 8, and 9 of the drawings, and is adjusted by a screw 110, which passes through a depending lug 111, formed upon said die, and which is swiveled, as shown at 112. Said screw has a hand-wheel 1 13 upon its outer end. It will be seen that in moving the carriage 58 forwardly the work is brought into contact with the bits, and the pin or bolt 106 travels in the guide-recess 107 permitting such lateral motion to be imparted to the carriage by the lever 57 a as to make a perfect round end on the male part of the dovetail, and that by turning the hand-wheel 113 the position of the die may be changed so as to round the corners on any desired thickness of board.

The operation of the invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the following brief statement: When the boards or other work are clamped upon the carriage 10, as clearly shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, and power is applied to the drive-shaft by means of a belt passed around the fixed pulley 6, it will be seen that the motion of said shaft will be imparted to the bit-spindles 38 by reason of the frictional engagement of the gears 37 and and that the motion of said spindle 13 will be imparted to the remaining bit-spindles 13, owing to the meshing of the gears 22. By driving the center spindle or one of the centermost ones of each group or gang it will be seen that the strain upon them will be equalized and that by making the spindles comparatively short all the difficulty arising from the vibration and the springing of the spindles is overcome. By operating one or more of the hand-levers 43, so that one or more of the frictioncones 37 is elevated, it will be seen that one or more of the gangs of spindles may be thrown out of operation. It will also be seen that owing to the various adjustments previously described the parts may be adjusted to take up any wear, so that the machine will always work in an efficient manner. By providing the drive or counter shaft 4 beneath the machine and connecting it to the bit-spindles by the frictional gearing it will be seen that the machine is of very compact and durable construction.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it Will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the precise construction herein set Letters Patent, is

1. A dovetailing-machine having a base, a driving-shaft mounted in the base and having a friction-gear, a supporting element ivotally connected to the base and movab e in an arc concentric to the driving-shaft, a

work-carriage in the supporting element,

means to shift said carriage, a frame carried by the supporting element, bearings carried by said frame and adjustable toward and from the driving-shaft, a tool-carrying spindle journaled in and adjustable with the said bearings, a friction-gear on said spindle, and means to shift said gear on said spindle, independently of the latter, into and out of engagement with the first-named friction-gear.

2. In a machine of the class described, a base, a driving-shaft having its bearings in the base and provided with driving-gears, a supporting element on the base, a frame adjustably secured on the front of the su porting element and provided with vertical slots and with an arm, an adjusting-screw engag ing said arm and the base, to vertically adjust said frame, bearings on the rear side of said frame, screws securing the said bearings to the frame and operating in the slots in the latter, screws to vertically adjust said bearings, groups of spindles journaled in said bearings, the spindles of each gang being intergeared and independent of the spindles of.

the other gangs, a gear on one spindleof each gang, mounted to rotate therewith and to move longitudinally thereon, and means to move said gears into and out of engagement with the driving-gears.

3. The hereindescribed dovetailing-machine having the base, the driving-shaft mounted therein and having the friction driving-gears, the supporting element pivotally mounted on said shaft, the gangs of spindles having their bearings on said sup porting element, the spindles of each gang being intergeared and independent of the spindles of the other gangs, a gear on one spindle of each gang mounted to rotate therewith and to move longitudinally thereon, means carried by the supporting element to shift said gears into and out of engagement with the driving-gears, a work-carriage in said supporting element, and means to shift said work-carriage.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a plurality of parallel bitspindles arranged in groups or gangs, the spindles of each group being geared together, and one of the centermost spindles of each group having an extended end, friction-gears In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing W1t- DGSSGS.

LEWIS O. WETZEL. Witnesses:

F. E. GALKINs, O. FAIRCHILD SMITH. 

